If we added up all the time people save learning with Color Music — every streamlined minute, hour, day, and week — we’re talking about entire lifetimes saved. So I guess you could say that Color Music saves lives! And it frees curious minds from the tyranny of outdated, old-school thinking … which assumes that slogging through ages of traditional music lessons is the only way.

Ahhh … but I wax philosophical at the new year. Long story short, 2012 is going to be awesome. So let’s leap into the future … and make some music!

Using Color Music, we can actually see the pattern of consonant and dissonant intervals. And without a doubt, the connection between complementary colors and tritones is awesome. But we can see even more. For example, check out the gradation bar below. It highlights exactly what’s going on:

As the colors approach the red tonic (1), they have higher levels of red … while the colors that approach the green tritone (b5) have higher levels of green. Get it? The complementary colors illustrate opposite tritons. And, at the same time, the colors in between actually highlight the whole spectrum of intervals.

This pattern is even easier to see in a circular format. Again, the keys (or notes) that are closer to the tonic have higher levels of that color, while the more dissonant ones have increasingly higher levels of the dissonant tritone. Just like before, the connection between color and music is like magic!

To use an analogy, the tonic is like the life source … full of strong, consonant blood. But as you move in the direction of the dissonant tritone, it’s gradually bled dry. (Whoa.) Of course, this “red blood” analogy is convenient for describing the key of C, which happens to be red. But this same idea works for all 12 keys.

Another analogy is that the consonant tonic and its dissonant tritone are like the polar opposites of a single magnet. The more consonant keys are drawn to the tonic, while the more dissonant keys are repelled … gravitating toward the tritone. Which mean’s the keys/notes exactly in between—the major-sixth (A) and minor-third (Eb)—are neutralized, with equal allegiance to both extremes.

And … I could go on about the parallels with Star Wars, the force, and Luke Skywalker’s struggle to reconcile his affinity for Jedi principles and the temptation of turning to the dark side, in favor of some powerful paternal affection … but I won’t.

Anyway, you can see why I was geeking out with Ben, right? When we really looked at these patterns, it was amazing. And now, we can write better songs that sound good—much faster. So you really shouldn’t judge me, my friends. Because, if you’ve been following along, then you know it’s cool, too. (Happy songwriting!)

With Color Music, our spectrum of consonant and dissonant intervals starts to click. In the key of C, for example, we get a much better view of what this pattern is all about.

Of course, these colors may seem random at first. But as you look closer, some really cool stuff pops out. And I mean cool. The first is pretty obvious. Notice anything special about the red tonic (C) and its green tritone (Gb)?

Yep, the are complementary colors. Which happens to be a perfect analogy. In the world of color, complementary colors are complete opposites. And in the world of music, the tonic (1) and its tritone (b5) are complete opposites. So it only makes sense that these patterns overlap. (In fact, it’s even spooky cool.)

But then it gets even better. Because Color Music shows us so much more….

In music, consonant and dissonant intervals are super-important. Because they tell us which notes sound good together … and which notes sound bad. Using plain, old scale degrees, we can kind of see what these intervals look like—check it out. We just rearrange the 12 basic intervals into a sort of spectrum:

The tonic (1) is at one end because it’s the most consonant scale degree in any key. At the other end of the spectrum is the tritone (b5) … because it is, by far, the most dissonant scale degree. And in between are all the other scale degrees, which range from consonant on the left … to dissonant on the right.

Cool, huh? If we want a song to sound good, we just play lots of notes and chords that are consonant. In other words, we need to stick with the scale degrees near the tonic (1) at the left of the spectrum. And if we want our music to sound more edgy and dissonant, then we pick and choose from the intervals on the right.

But, of course, all of that is easier said than done. Because each of these little symbols can be confusing. So it’s still difficult to see what I’m talking about. No matter how hard you look, these scale degree symbols don’t really illustrate why some intervals are consonant … while other intervals are dissonant. And that’s a bummer.

Ahhh … but Color Music saves the day again. By looking at these scale degrees using colors and shapes, we get a much better view of what this spectrum is trying to show us….

Looking at music through the letters and numbers is like wearing a pair of opaque glasses. If you can’t really see through the lenses, then what is the point?

Ahhh … but this is where Color Music comes in. Because it finally solves our problem. Like a pair of x-ray goggles, it cuts through the clutter and reveals the patterns that are really at play. And it does this by using a special pattern of colors.

Like music, colors are also cyclical. They aren’t linear like letters and numbers. Which means they actually follow the same repeating patterns of music. In fact, the connection is so seamless it’s sort of spooky.

Not only that, but Color Music also outperforms both letters and numbers in the jobs they were supposed to do. You might even say it’s a double whammy. Like the letters, each color shows us which note is which. And at the same time, the colors show us how the notes relate better than the numbers ever could. It’s an unfair competition.

Of course, I could go on about the benefits of Color Music. But I think you get my point. Numbers and letters are a mere band-aid on an age-old problem. Instead of helping musicians master their craft, they throw up a roadblock to creativity.

Color Music, on the other hand, gives us a clear solution. It follows the logic that “nature loves simplicity.” And it’s a powerful new way to see sound. Which means we can easily play scales, chords, and progressions … faster than ever before.

So finally, we have a choice. Slog through an outdated system from the dark ages … or truly master music at the speed of light. It’s your choice. Enjoy!

(… continued from “Color Code, part 2“)

When we apply numbers to music, the poor fit becomes obvious. While the musical pattern repeats seamlessly, the number labels look choppy and awkward.

And it gets worse because letters have this same problem. Like the number line, the alphabet is also a linear pattern. So when musicians apply letters to music, we hit the same dead end. Again, these symbols can’t truly illustrate the cyclical pattern of music. So, combined, letters and numbers cannot lead to real understanding. As they say, two wrongs don’t make a right.

But what can we expect? After all, traditional symbols are just a crude, medieval system. So we get what we get, right? In fact, looking at music through these symbols is like wearing a pair of opaque glasses. If you can’t really see through the lenses, then what is the point?

The old, medieval system of notation was sloppy … at best. The reason, my friends, has to do with the difference between linear and cyclical patterns. (Yes, that sounds geeky and technical. But it actually makes a lot of sense.)

You see, music is really all about cyclical patterns. Or patterns that repeat and cycle over again and again. Think of any composition by Bach and you know what I mean. Swirling, cascading patterns that have no beginning and no end. Just limitless, fluid strands of music that weave in and out, clean and symmetrical. This cyclical nature is a hallmark of music.

We can actually see this pattern on a piano keyboard. It’s just the same 12 keys repeated from low notes on the left … to high notes on the right.

Because this pattern is cyclical, we can easily wrap these notes into a circle, like this:

See what I mean? Music is just a repeating pattern—plain and simple.

The trouble starts when we throw letters and numbers into the mix. Because—unlike musical notes—these symbols are linear. So they can add more confusion than clarity.

A perfect example is the basic number line. (It’s even called a “line,” which means it is linear.) From left to right, this pattern rises from very low numbers to very high numbers. It’s like a long railroad track—straight and rigid.

Of course, we can try to wrap these numbers into a circle, like we did with the piano keyboard pattern. But we get a very different result. And it’s definitely not a cyclical pattern. Instead, what we get is something like an ordinary clock.

We start at a low number (1) and then work our way up to a high number (12) … only to drop back down to a low number (1) again. It’s a weird and unnatural pattern. And when we apply these numbers to music, the poor fit becomes even more obvious. While the musical pattern repeats seamlessly, the number labels look choppy and awkward.

!!! Warning: Music nerdery ahead !!!

Okay, so I’ve already said that traditional notation is confusing. And that standard music symbols are too complicated. But the truth is, there’s even more to it. Because the letters and numbers musicians use aren’t just inconvenient—they are fundamentally flawed. And that’s why students continue to struggle.

In fact, letter and number symbols have haunted musicians since the Middle Ages, when a few monks started using them as a way to  “see” music. Since sound was invisible, these little labels seemed like a good solution to a nagging problem. The letters were used to describe each note … while the numbers explained the relationships between notes.

At the time, those monks were pretty proud of themselves. And everybody assumed this fancy system did the trick. Yet modern students still get confused and discouraged. Why? Because the old, medieval solution was sloppy … at best.

The reason, my friends, has to do with the difference between linear and cyclical patterns. (Yes, that sounds geeky and technical. But it actually makes a lot of sense….)

The key to learning music is to understand note patterns first—then the language of a musician. That way, we can truly understand how to make music. No confusion or distractions with strange words or terminology. Just pure immersion into what music is really all about—simple patterns.

And what’s nice is these patterns are super simple. So tackling the language of music isn’t far behind. We just soak in the note patterns of scales, chords, and progressions, and then absorb the vocabulary of music. It’s a powerful one-two punch!

Of course, if Color Music is really as simple as it looks, then it should make sense to anyone, right? Even a kid. I mean, if you’ve been reading this blog for even a little while, then you know music ain’t rocket science. In reality, it’s just child’s play.

Traditional music methods aren’t all bad. Mainly, because they give us a common vocabulary—a shared language that musicians can use to communicate. Over the centuries, music nerds have created all sorts of handy words to describe sound. So that when we talk about “tonics,” or “sharp-fives,” or “E-flat,” you know what I mean.

The trouble is, traditional methods start with these terms. And that creates problems. If we just throw a bunch of strange phrases at a beginner, they’re only going to get confused.

No, a better way to understand music is to learn note patterns first—then the vocabulary of a musician. I mean, you wouldn’t try to teach a child the alphabet before they learned to speak, right? That would just overwhelm them because their brains don’t work that way.

In reality, any kid masters a language by sounding out words first—like “dog,” “car,” “ball,” etc.—BEFORE they try to spell these words. And long before they even think about tackling heavier concepts like nouns, punctuation, prepositional phrases, and so on.

See what I’m saying? Music works the same way. We need to hear and see notes before we try to label them with letters, numbers, or any of those crazy traditional symbols. It just makes sense. Standard music has so many terms it can make your head spin. But deep down the patterns of music are simple.

With Color Music, we can easily learn these patterns. And I think this is the best way to master music. As with any language, we’re better off learning the patterns first … then the vocabulary. That way, the vocabulary will be obvious, because we’ll already know exactly what we’re describing.